I chose Kitty’s cake with utmost care. It’s chocolate with
raspberry jam and white chocolate frosting. I’ve made three
different kinds of dips. Sour cream and onion, red pepper
hummus, and cold spinach dip. Crudités. Pigs in a blanket.
Salty caramel popcorn for the movie. Lime sherbet punch, the
kind you pour ginger ale over. I even scrounged up an old
glass punch bowl in the attic, which will also be perfect for the
USO theme party. For breakfast in the morning I’m making
chocolate chip pancakes. I know all of these details are
important to Kitty, too. Already she’s mentioned to me that at
Brielle’s birthday, her mom made strawberry smoothies for
their snack, and who could forget how Alicia Bernard’s mom
made crepes when she’s mentioning it all the time?
Daddy’s banished to his room for the night, which he looks
relieved about—but not before I made him drag down the little
vintage chest of drawers I have in my room. I artfully arrange
my collection of nightgowns and pj’s and footie long
underwear, plus fuzzy slippers. Between Kitty, Margot, and
me, we have a lot of fuzzy slippers.
Everyone changes into pajamas right away, giggling and
screaming and fighting over who gets what.
I am wearing a pale pink peignoir set I got from a thrift
store brand-new with the tags still on. I feel like Doris Day in
The Pajama Game. The only thing I’m missing are furry
slippers with a kitten heel. I tried to convince Kitty that we
should have an old movie night, but she shot that idea down
right away. To be funny, I put my hair in rollers. I offer to put
the girls’ hair in rollers too, but everyone shrieks and says no.
They’re so loud I keep having to say, “Girls, girls!”
Halfway into the mani session I notice that Kitty is hanging
back. I thought she’d be in her element, belle of the birthday
ball, but she’s ill at ease and playing with Jamie.
When all the girls run upstairs to my room to do the mud
packs I’ve prepared, I grab Kitty’s elbow. “Are you having
fun?” I ask. She nods and tries to dart away, but I give her
stern eyes. “Sister swear?”